APWR Central

As the Bosnian Pyramid circus unfolds, many of the people who participated in it and substantially contributed to its exaggerated publicity are beginning to wash their hands and point fingers in other directions.

So is the case of the Foundation's expert for satellite imagery, Mr. Amer Smailbegovic. Even though he had provided and formulated the arguments for the theory of the Bosnian Pyramid Complex and co-authored the well-known *reconstruction* of it, when approached by the Science Magazine this September, Mr. Smailbegovic suddenly reached for the Gullibility Mask, reducing his role in the Project to the minimum:

„"I noticed that the area has a peculiar triangular-sided feature you don't see too often in a temperate environment," says Smailbegovic, who analyzed satellite imagery for Osmanagic. Thermal and radar imaging also made the hill seem "out of the ordinary," he says. So Smailbegovic wrote to Osmanagic that "there are anomalies present in your area of interest, and you may have something there. I suggest you find yourself an archaeologist and geologist to help you validate the area." But "the next thing I know," Smailbegovic says, "there was a headline in the Bosnian papers: Satellite imagery confirms Osmanagic's discovery of pyramids in Bosnia." This would prove to be the start of a barrage of "sensationalism," he says.“

What Mr. Smailbegovic somehow forgot to mention to the Science Magazine journalist is his visits with the regional politicians in April, when he – as a representative of Mr. Osmanagic's Foundation – had been convincing the regional political establishment of the existence of collosal structures in the Visoko valley:

„Dr. Smailbegovic explained the scientific argumentation reached at the beginning of the research, but also the most recent discoveries from a few days ago which clearly show that beneath these hills in the Visoko area there indeed are collosal buildings hiding, and they do not belong to the medieval period, but are much older.“

Other people involved with the Bosnian Pyramid Project seem to develop memory losses as well, while complaining about the Bosnian media sensationalism, portraying themselves as gullible victims of Mr. Osmanagic and dealing lessons on how Bosnians should deal with the shame that will undoubtedly come. Here it is in recent writing by Ms. Colette Dowell:

„Television, new papers and websites (Bosnia News, piramidasunca.com and others) announced our arrival in Bosnia as the "American Superstars," who would credit the claims of Semir's pyramids and Bosnia would receive its glory. It was a terrible position for us to be placed in. Semir would make a point of introducing us to investors and politicians and have us all stand around posing together for our pictures. The media was reporting and editing words Dr. Schoch never spoke and made it seem as if he was agreeing with Semir or that the excavations were a scientific challenge and he needed more time to evaluate them. The media even reported Dr. Schoch had a twinkle in his eye! We were always polite but never, never did Dr. Schoch agree with Semir's claims or make any of those statements as I was right there with him the whole time and I also was being interviewed as well. Dr. Schoch and I avoided many interviews, we knew what was going on. We were being used, exploited and given the 'red carpet' treatment as we were told many times to "gain our favor."“

It seems that Ms. Colette Dowell has forgotten that both she and Mr. Robert Schoch were warned about this superstar-treatment and possibility of their arrival to Bosnia being twisted for propaganda purposes, in an open letter that was sent to them before they went to Bosnia:

„Your upcoming visit to Visoko has been splashed all over the Bosnian media, following the euphoric announcement by the Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation, giving out the impression that the sole fact of your decision to come to Bosnia means that the 'pyramids' do actually exist. The Foundation is not so careful in their wording as dr. Schoch is in his letter addressing this visit  – to the Bosnian public, the Foundation conveys that you are „joining the team of experts and the work on explaining the mystery of the Bosnian Pyramids Valley." The release makes a point that your visit is „just one of those by leading international experts who work on the process of international verification of the geo-archaeological research in the Bosnian Pyramids Valley." All of this would be in sharp contrast to the purpose of obtaining an objective, unbiased and independent insight, as pointed out by dr. Schoch in his above mentioned letter.“

To this letter, Ms. Dowell replied with how very much she enjoyed looking at the provided images and „reading up on some of the background information“ that was sent. To answer at least partially to the question of „who is going to rehabilitate the good reputation of the gullible, misleaded Bosnian people involved in the "greatest archaeological project"“, I know who is not going to bother themselves with that.

Run, hypocrites, run.